I remember when I first started playing with ReBirth, I really enjoyed the interface and it was a high-fidelity reproduction of the hardware it was emulating. But there's only so much I could do before I ran into the inescapable fact that I hate the way the 808 and 909 sound. Now those wacky Swedes at Propellerheads have come up with the next big thing, and it completely kicks ass: Reason.

It's a hardware emulator just like ReBirth but it has all the various types of hardware that ReBirth was missing. It's got mixers, effects, sequencers, drum machines, digital and "analog" synths, samplers, as well as full midi control, multi-channel out, realtime control, CV patches, and a smart system of interconnecting the various modules.

Now I have to drop out of school because all I'm going to do is sit around making techno all the time. Well actually I suppose I'm safe for awhile because Reason costs $400 and I don't currently have it.